HighTower Podcast: Collective Wisdom

Peter Lang of HighTower Westchester and Cory Bittner of Falcon Wealth Advisors discuss the many ways they get into the lives, dreams, hopes and plans of clients in order to make sure that financial planning encompasses more than just the portfolio. In this week's Collective Wisdom discussion, both talked about the tools they use to help clients prepare for and deal with 'life events' as part of their advisory process.

Cory Bittner of Falcon Wealth Advisors said that while value investing has undeniably lagged growth and momentum investing through the long bear market, the style itself still has merit, and he warned that history shows that declaring any investment style as dead tends to happen shortly before the market ultimately rewards that style again. Likewise, Peter Lang of HighTower Westchester, noted that what passes for value investing these days has changed, and that investors can benefit from diversifying to own deep- and relative value stocks, especially as changing markets constantly put the value label on new and different names.

A discussion of the proper use of alternatives and the decision to give up liquidity late in the market cycle highlighted the vastly different strategies investors can follow when it comes to bringing non-correlated assets into the fold. Jeremiah Riethmiller of Sarian Strategic Partners suggested keeping 10 to 15 percent of a portfolio in alternatives, with about half of that money in issues that remain liquid, the more traditional managed-futures, market-neutral or absolute-return strategies. Steve Tresnan of Tresnan Ferst Wealth Advisors, by comparison, was willing to put up to half of assets into alternatives, and was willing to go much more illiquid, using private-equity investments along with the traditional alternatives to build a more endowment-like all-weather portfolio.

Steve Tresnan of Tresnan Ferst Wealth Advisors and Jeremiah Riethmiller of Sarian Strategic Partners both cited data showing that fixed income is no longer the same kind of buffer for equities in troubled times, but came up with different solutions for balancing rate risk with the need to provide an equity hedge. Tresnan said he is looking more to private credit to diversify and achieve better balance, while Riethmiller is sticking with a more traditional barbell-style approach to give his clients balance.

Jeremiah Riethmiller of Sarian Strategic Partners and Steven Tresnan of Tresnan Ferst Wealth Advisors are watching the same economic news and reading the same news headlines, but are reacting slightly differently to what they see now. Riethmiller sees a market and economy that is slowing but not stopping or falling off a cliff any time soon, while Tresnan sees good news -- like record-low unemployment rates -- as creating some tougher times for businesses. Both see positives in the economic numbers, but say the market will still have to push hard to avoid the growing obstacles beneath the surface of the data.

The buzz about alternative investments had faded over the last few years as performance in securities outside the stock/bond/real estate space had been lackluster, but the return of volatility to the market late last year coupled with its late-year swoon had financial advisers reconsidering the role of alternatives in portfolios. In this rebroadcast of an episode from late 2018, Jake Falcon of Falcon Wealth Advisors in Mission Woods, Kansas, and Ed Terwiliger of the Nulman Group in Providence, R.I., examine the appropriate role for alternatives to play in a portfolio now.

When it comes to finances and love, true romance comes in the boring conversations about budgeting, savings, beneficiaries, estate planning and more. In this conversation -- originally broadcast in 2018 -- Matt Harris of HighTower Global Investment Solutions, Peter Lang of HighTower Westchester, and Jake Falcon of Falcon Wealth Advisors discuss the efforts couples need to make to cover the important financial issues they face and to share information that will help the function better both individually and as a unit.

In a discussion of key investment themes for the second half of 2019, Jake Falcon of Falcon Wealth Advisors in Mission Woods, Kansas, noted that he'll be looking for companies that can generate real earnings growth at a time when overall economic growth is slowing, while David Hartness of IronGate Partners in Wilmington, N.C., said he will be focused on balancing market growth with risk and guarding against complacency in any possible slowdown later in 2019.

In this week's Collective Wisdom podcast, David Hartness of IronGate Partners in Wilmington, N.C., and Josh Falcon of Falcon Wealth Advisors in Mission Woods, Kansas, discussed how overseeing client portfolios means working with the customer's other counselors, from lawyers to accountants to insurance agents and more, and that coordinating those efforts involves communication, cooperation and, occasionally, the ability to stand up and be strong in your belief on what is the best course of action for the individual investor.

In Collective Wsidom this week, Jake Falcon of Falcon Wealth Advisors and David Hartness of IronGate Partners talk about how their firms work with clients, and the various resources that clients can look forward to, because while individuals think they are hiring an adviser, their experience can be a lot different -- and much more -- than simple sit-downs with the face of the firm. Understanding what you will get before signing on is key to being happy with the advisers you ultimately work with